The present invention relates to the art of coolers for dispensing fluids such as drinking water, and more particularly to a new and improved water cooler for dispensing oxygen enriched water.
Oxygen enriched drinking water has an enhanced taste appeal and offers the health and fitness conscious consumer an alternative and supplemental source of oxygen that is absorbed through the stomach. The term drinking water is intended to include, without limitation, spring water, filtered water, water treated by the reverse osmosis process, etc.
The dissolved oxygen content of natural pure spring water ranges from between about 5 mg/liter to 9 mg/liter depending on the source of the water, purification and processing techniques applied prior to bottling, and other factors. The water can be supersaturated with oxygen by injecting molecular oxygen into a water pipeline controlled at a pressure of 40-90 PSIG (pounds per square inch gage), or using other known methods. Using this technique, the dissolved oxygen level of the water can be increased to about 80 mg/liter. If bottled immediately in hermetically sealed bulk glass bottles or other suitable containers, the water will maintain the elevated dissolved oxygen level indefinitely.
Bulk water bottles typically are in the 3-5 gallon range. Upon opening a bulk water bottle containing water that is supersaturated with oxygen, and installing the water bottle on a standard water cooler, the dissolved oxygen in the water decreases to near the baseline level of about 5-9 mg/liter within about 3-5 days. Since the average time required to consume a 3-5 gallon bulk water bottle typically is in the 10-14 day range, the rapid decrease in dissolved oxygen prevents the commercial marketing of oxygen enriched drinking water in 3-5 gallon bulk bottles for use on standard water coolers.
It would, therefore, be highly desirable to provide a new and improved water cooler for dispensing oxygen enriched water wherein the dissolved oxygen content of water in the water bottle installed on the water cooler is maintained above about 50% of the original supersaturated level during the entire time water is dispensed from the water bottle by the cooler, i.e., during the entire usage cycle of the water bottle.